Road Trip
by Lavalampgirl
Summary: Derek has been intercepting phone calls from Sam to Casey all summer, and now the family is going camping for a week. But when Derek and Casey lose sight of the SUV, will they go to the states instead?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Why did she always have to be so damn sexy? Derek could never get over this fact. She always managed to look beautiful and inviting, even at times like these when she had just walked out into the hall, still sleepy eyed from the party last night, wearing PJ pants and a spaghetti strap tank top. It was almost 10:30 on Friday morning, they had probably gotten home around 3:30 the night before (or that morning) from a party at Emily's. Summer had so far been good to both of them. Casey realized her opportunity, and made a mad dash for the bathroom.

"Yes! I got it first for once!" She proclaimed her victory as she shut the door behind her. Derek heard the water go on.

"Oh man! Casey!" He wrapped on the door. "I've really gotta go, can't the shower wait a minute!"

Casey opened the door cautiously. She peeked her head through so she was face to face with Derek. "Oh no, Derek, I see what your trying." She said confidently. "The last time I let you in here just to go, you took all the hot water!" And with that remark, she slammed the door in his face. Well, he supposed she was right, but did she have to remember that incident when he had just woken up and really needed to go?

"Casey!" He banged on the door again.

"You'll just have to hold it!" She taunted in a sing-song voice, after which he heard the curtain pull. Exasperated, Derek walked down the stairs, hoping to find the powder room free. It wasn't, of course. He launched into the kitchen; at least he could get first choice at breakfast. Lizzie and Marti had beaten him, he picked up his empty box of corn pops and furrowed his brow.

"Lizzie!" He threatened.

"What? Marti ate them too. I barely got any. Besides, you can't hurt me, I'll tell George on you." She warned.

"Smarti, why'd you do it kiddo?" He questioned her.

"I like corn pops, and yesterday I heard Casey talking on the phone about how we should all eat them, so I figured I would start today. I'm sorry Derek, I didn't know I would eat them all, but they were yummy!" Her big eyes danced in the light of the sun coming through the kitchen window. He couldn't be mad at her, not ever.

"That girl…" Derek muttered under his breath (referring to Casey of course). "Where's Ed?" The two girls shrugged their shoulders; he must be using the other bathroom, thought Derek. Suddenly, he heard the water turn off. He raced up the stairs and bumped into Casey on the way, who was wearing only a towel, and was trying to make her way back to her bedroom without being noticed. Derek stopped dead in his tracks, and Casey felt her cheeks getting hot as he caught her from almost falling down the stairs.

"Watch it!" She yelled at him, breaking free of his grip. "What are you staring at?" She asked defensively. Derek hadn't realized he was staring.

"Well, that's what you get for locking a guy out when he's gotta go!" He quickly covered. They had held each other's gaze this whole time, but just then the phone rang, jerking both of them back to reality.

"Sam's on the phone!" George called up the stairs. Again Casey and Derek's eyes met.

"I got it!" They both chimed simultaneously. Casey bolted for the stairs looking ridiculous in her towel, Derek right behind her (and enjoying the view I might add) looking just as ridiculous as he was trying to hold it. They both jumped at the phone, George held it in the air over his head.

"It's for Casey." He said. Casey took the phone, but just as she was about to say hello Derek grabbed it from her. He ran upstairs and slammed the bathroom door behind him, now holding the phone.

"Hey Sam, what's up?" He asked his best friend as he finally relieved himself. Geez that felt good.

"Dude, are you doing what I think you're doing? I mean, am I hearing what I think I'm hearing?" Sam asked from the opposite end of the phone, a little surprised.

"Yeah, sorry man, Casey locked me out of the bathroom this morning and man did I need to go." He replied, wondering why it was a big deal. I mean, we shower after practice, he thought.

"Aw man, not what I need to hear this morning. Is Casey around? I was thinking about catching a movie with her and maybe grabbing lunch." He asked, recovering from his shock.

"No, sorry dude, she's out with some friends for the day. Gotta get some girl time in before we all go camping this week." He lied through his teeth. He told himself it was because he didn't want his stupid stepsister taking his best friend away, but sometimes he wondered if that was the real reason. There was silence on the other side of the phone.

Then, after what seemed like ages and a toilet flush, Sam spoke.

"Dude, I thought I heard her, you sure she's not there?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"Hang on and I'll check man, but I'm pretty sure she left as soon as I got in the bathroom." Oh, stupid cover, thought Derek. How could she not be there if he had told Sam that she has recently locked him out of the bathroom? "Nope dude, she just left." He covered. Sam wasn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier, and Derek knew he wouldn't know the difference.

"Alright man, well, when are you leaving for your trip?" He asked. "I'd like to get some time in with her if your all gonna be gone a week. Know what I mean?" Ugh, thought Derek.

"Not really man, it's my sister you're talking about here, I can't say I relate to you." He lied again. He could relate, what boyfriend wouldn't want time with her? He banished the thought from his head, peeved at his own inner thoughts.

"Well, could you tell her I called and have her call when she gets home?" He asked, expectantly.

"Will do man, will do." And with that, the conversation ended. Derek walked out of the bathroom cautiously. A now dressed Casey met him in the hallway and looked at him expectantly.

"Phone please?" She held out her hand to Derek.

"Sure Casey, but if your looking for Sam, we just got off. He was just calling to let you know he'll be spending the day with some buds. He's already left I'm sure…" Derek said, looking at his watch. "Yeah, he said he'd be gone for pretty much the rest of the day, but he'd give you a call when he got back in." Casey looked disappointed by this.

"I thought he'd want to spend the day with me, we'll be gone for like a week, you know?" She looked at him questioningly.

"Yeah well, Sam's not really like that." He said bluntly.

"Yes he is. He's more romantic than I am at times." Casey stated, looking a little confused and hurt.

"Yeah, but Casey, he can't pick a girl over his buds." Derek stated, and he ruffled her hair as he walked into his room, still carrying the phone for safekeeping.

"God she smelled good!" Derek whispered to himself. He could still smell the scent of her shampoo on his hand.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Casey choked back tears as she walked back into her room. Why was he avoiding her lately? He hadn't even asked to tell her himself that he'd be spending the day with some friends. Was he losing interest in her? Didn't he like her anymore? All of these thoughts passed through Casey's mind. She wasn't really the type to call a guy herself, but she would obviously need to if she wanted to get any straight answers out of him. And Derek, she thought, what a jerk! She had been so close to talking to Sam when Derek just grabbed the phone from her and ran up the stairs. She hadn't gotten to speak to him in a few days.

Casey sat at her desk and started making a list of everything she would need to bring on the camping trip. She organized herself this way every time she traveled, but for the moment it was pretty much only a way to distract herself. She would have been totally willing to pack quickly that night had she gotten to spend the day with Sam. Suddenly there was a knock on her door. She got up from her desk and answered, surprised to see Derek there.

Derek was surprised to see her face a little puffy and red. "Have you been crying?" He asked.

"No, no. I just got something in my eye." Casey tried to cover, but it was obvious she was upset. She didn't even realize she had let the tears fall.

"Well then, c'mon, we're in charge of getting food for the trip." He would need to get her out of the house in case Sam decided to drop by. That would be just the type of thing he'd do, Derek thought to himself. Not that it bothered him, but eventually he wouldn't get to spend any time with Sam anymore, Sam would be too busy spending time with Casey. Spending time with Casey, ugh. Just the thought of it made his stomach turn. Holding hands with Casey, kissing Casey…touching Casey…his blood boiled. Not because he cared if Sam touched Casey, but Casey shouldn't be getting all of Sam's time. Yeah…that's it, he thought to himself.

"Derek? Hello!" Casey shouted in his face.

"Wait…what? Were you talking to me?" He had been thinking so much he wasn't even listening to a word she was saying.

"Nice to know you really care what I have to say…" Casey muttered under her breath.

"Yeah, well I don't" He covered. "Let's go"

"Derek, I really don't feel like going…" Casey said, wiping her face clean.

"C'mon Case, I know you did not lock me out of the bathroom this morning to make yourself beautiful so you could stay inside all day. And obviously prince charming is busy so…let's go. We'll make a day of it" He offered, realizing how much she was really bothered by this.

"Derek, no offense, but I didn't really want to make a day of it with my stepbrother today. Especially not the one who doesn't care what I'm saying and reminds me that prince charming couldn't care less. Not to mention taking my one chance to talk to him in days." She said, her voice breaking at the end of that sentence. She knew she had lost it, he already had to know she was crying, so she might as well share and try to get it out of her system.

"Case, it's no big deal, you'll see him when we get back"

"Yeah, in more than a week! I haven't seen him since Monday, as if he's noticed. That'll make it almost two weeks before I see him at all!"

"Ooh, two weeks, oh no!" Derek said sarcastically, holding his hands up to his face.

"You don't get it Derek, you don't care about anyone that way!" She yelled, slamming the door in his face. Ouch, he thought.

"I do too!" He yelled through the door. She opened it.

"Oh yeah? Who?" She asked. She caught him off guard…

"…like I would tell you!" He came up with quickly. She was right, who? "C'mon. I'm not getting the food by myself, unless you want to eat pork rinds all week…actually, I probably could get the food myself." He said, slowly turning around, a smirk spreading across his face.

"Nice, ever heard of fruit or vegetables?"

"Then come help me get them, because I certainly won't be picking them out." He said, whipping back around to face her.

"Alright…" Casey sighed. She knew something was up. If it had normally been up to Derek, he wouldn't have even told her they had been put in charge of food. He would have just gone and gotten whatever he wanted and then blamed her half way through the trip when everyone was starving or some actual nutrients. She grabbed her purse off of her desk, and grudgingly followed him down the stairs and out to his car. It had been lovingly named "the crapwagon", due to the fact that it was a station wagon about 17 years old. But she had to give him credit for actually saving up and buying it. She didn't have a car yet, but she didn't have a job either, and wasn't sure how she was going to buy a car.

"Derek, I don't think I really want to ride in that…" She began, as he looked at her questioningly. "Well, it's just…what if it breaks down?"

"It's not going to break down Case. We've been over this," He said, putting his arm over her shoulder and opening the passenger side door for her.

"Okay, now I know there's something wrong with you. What's going on?" She asked, peeling his arm off of her.

"Can't a brother show he cares?" And he shut the door in her face just to prove he didn't really care all that much…did he? Lately Derek had been having some funny feelings. He had been intercepting phone calls from Sam for Casey all summer, but not to spend time with Sam. Every time he had ruined their plans, he realized he had then spent the time with Casey. And she was always beautiful. He had really wanted to dance with her at Emily's party last night.

He remembered the night before as they drove down their street away from the house. She had been wearing a little white skirt, and a pink halter top. Damn did she look hot, he had trouble keeping his eyes off of her. Then he realized, he always watched Casey. At home, at school, in the lunch room, in classes they shared, in the hall with Sam…Sam. That was when he was reminded that they were dating. He could feel his hands clenching into fists every time he thought about them.

Derek had been telling himself that he was jealous of Casey taking his best friend, when he realized on that drive that he was jealous of his best friend taking Casey. His best friend? A best friend wouldn't do that, wouldn't steal a girl that their best friend liked. Derek would though, he would steal her in an instant. What was he thinking? She was his stepsister. Step, of course, being the operative word. They weren't actually related. But it was still wrong…wasn't it?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Derek, where are we going?" Casey asked, as they passed the grocery store on the left and continued away from town.

"Casey, I told you we were gonna make a day of it. You can't sit in your room all day making stupid lists about everything you're bringing, and thinking about Sam." He could see her eyes start to tear up, she was even gorgeous when she cried. "Don't cry Case, you deserve better."

"Derek, what did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong! Sam's just not right for you. He's self centered, never knows what he wants, and I don't even trust him to tell you the truth." That was the truth. He didn't trust Sam. Oh sure, he trusted him with homework, hockey, lending him video games…but not with Casey. That's why he never liked leaving Sam alone with Casey for long.

But as for the rest of it…that was Derek. Derek was the one who couldn't be trusted, lying to both parties like this. Not to mention him being self centered, and wanting Casey for himself. Did he really want Casey for himself? He knew, deep down, that he did. But maybe it would work it's way out of his system. If I could only just kiss her once, put the world on pause and kiss her, then I'd probably be over it, he thought to himself.

"But he's never done this before. He's always been the one to call, to make plans, to miss me. I miss him…"

"Case, don't. He doesn't deserve you."

"I don't deserve him. Did you know I forgot our 3 month anniversary?" She asked, a single tear slipping out of her well containing eyes. Derek stifled a laugh, but Casey caught it none the less. She forgot their anniversary? Then she must not really care that much about him, he thought. "Oh my God, why am I even talking to you about this in the first place?" Casey asked, suddenly closing off and turning away to look out the window. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Well, I thought we could go to a movie, maybe grab some lunch…" Derek felt like scum. He was taking Sam's plans with Casey too…

"Why are you trying to be nice to me anyway?"

"Because I do care Casey, really I do. I don't want to see you hurt. I want to see you happy…" and in my arms, he finished in his head. Casey looked shocked, floored, stunned. She couldn't even speak.

"Derek, why are you doing this?" she asked suddenly, very serious.

"Can't a guy spend the day with his sister without the 3rd degree? Sheesh!"

"Stepsister." she corrected him. What did that mean? Was she making the definition different for the same reason he was? He suddenly became every nervous, and looked over in her direction. She was staring out the window, but he could see another tear running down her cheek in the reflection of the window. She's too busy thinking about Sam, he thought. Why am I doing this?

"Even so." He finished the conversation. They passed the movie theatre just outside of town.

"Okay Derek, that was the theatre…" She said, suspiciously looking over at him.

"The Cine-Capri's way better." He stated matter of factly.

"That one's another 20 minutes away!" She whined.

"It'll be worth it." he said. Wouldn't want to run into Sam now would we?

Once at the movie theatre Derek paid for the movie tickets, and bought the popcorn and the soda. Casey wondered what was really going on. What did he want from her? He probably needed a favor and was trying to cheer her up so that she'd be in good humor when he asked her. She couldn't help but notice how cute he was though, opening doors for her, buying things for her. It was making her feel better, until she started thinking about the fact that Sam used to do all of this for her.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked her once the movie was over.

"I was just thinking…"she said, not even realizing everyone getting up from their seats and leaving the theatre.

"About what?" Derek asked, teasingly.

"About the fact that Sam used to take me to the movies…he used to do all sorts of things for me." She sighed absentmindedly. He couldn't take this.

"Ugh, gross, not what I want to hear about."

"Not those types of things, geeze Derek. I mean, we used to go to the movies and have lunch together and spend time together, walk holding hands, dance. You know, things like that. I just miss it, that's all. And I know we're heading for a breakup." Derek's heart leaped up into his chest. Heading for a breakup? He had just been hoping to get them apart for a while so he could get his…best friend back? He knew that was a lie. He wanted his stepsister, and he had it bad.

He suddenly got a bright idea. He had been dying to do this at school dances and parties since he had met Casey, and this was the perfect opportunity. Nobody they knew was there, they were out of town, and it was dark in the theatre. He took her hand and stood her up, leading her out from the row and into the now empty aisle of the theatre.

"Derek, what are you doing? I need my purse, and my" He stopped her from speaking as he pulled her close to him, resting her head on his chest and putting his hand on her back. He stroked her hair with his other hand. Okay, Casey thought, this was a little creepy. What was the deal? He must really need a favor, and he's willing to do anything to put me into a good mood. She smelled his cologne, he smelled so good. He smelled her shampoo on her hair, the same scent he had had on his hand earlier that morning. He let his hand slide down to her lower back. Casey didn't stop him.

Her heart was pounding nearly in her throat. She couldn't believe what was happening. He felt so warm, and so strong. She felt so safe in his arms. She never wanted to let go. They danced, slowly, in the that position until the ushers started coming in and cleaning up.

Casey pulled away from him. Why did it have to be over, he thought to himself. She went to grab her purse. "Derek, I know what you're trying to do." she said to him as they left the theatre. He panicked.

"You do?"

"Yes. So why don't you just tell me what you want and I'll decide how much more of a good mood I'll need to be in to give you whatever favor you need." She said, waiting for his reply.

His heart pounded in his chest. She knew he wanted her…a favor? Is she serious? She would consider this?

"Derek? Just tell me! You want me to pack for you? You need someone to wash your car? Do your chores?" she asked, rattling things off he could possibly need. He breathed a sigh of relief under his breath. She was clueless about how he felt.

"No Case, I don't need anything. Just to spend time with my sister in civilization before we have to go and spend a week in the wilderness." He said, reassuringly.

"Derek, this doesn't make sense. You're never nice to me, and you never want to come near me. What's going on?"

"Have lunch with me and maybe I'll tell you." he couldn't have seriously just said that. He couldn't tell her. She'd be disgusted by him. He was disgusted by himself, how could he have these feeling for her? He needed to get away. Maybe it was just the fact that they were living in such close quarters, maybe that's why he couldn't get her out of his head.

Casey pestered him all the way through lunch to tell her why he was being to so nice to her.

"Look," he said, "try to just enjoy it for now because after this I'm going to go back to the way things were before." And he meant it. He'd have to go back to treating her the way he always had, if he didn't want her to become suspicious of his true feelings for her.

After lunch, the two spent the rest of the afternoon at the mall, ice skating, and then grocery shopping. They came into the house around 7:30 that evening laughing and pushing each other around like old friends. George and Nora both raised their eyebrows.

"You two were sure gone a long time. Have fun?" George asked.

"Yeah, except for the fact that Casey was there, but other than that…"Derek said, dropping the grocery bags on the counter and heading upstairs. Casey just rolled her eyes.

"Hey!" She called out after him. "Aren't you gonna help me put this stuff away?"

He turned around on his way up the stairs, only the say "Sorry Case, that's women's work." And he walked up to his room and shut the door.

"Figures." Uttered Casey. "I knew it couldn't last. We were actually getting along." And she started unpacking the groceries. George and Nora just looked at each other and shook their heads.

Upstairs in his room Derek's heart was pounding. Had his parents seen what was going on? No, they couldn't have, he told himself. There was now way, they'd never suspect it, especially after the way I just treated her. Aww, why'd I have to do that?…because otherwise dad and Nora would have noticed something was up, this way they just think I'm being me. Derek heard the doorbell ring from downstairs.

He raced down to stairs to intercept it before Casey had even gotten out of the kitchen. Seeing Sam standing there with a dozen roses he turned around and yelled "It's for me!" behind his shoulder and quickly shut the door as he stepped outside.

"Dude, it's not for you. These are for Casey man." Sam shook his head and started to walk past Derek, but Derek put his hand on his friends shoulder to stop him.

"Trust me man, you don't want to do that." Derek said, shaking his head warningly.

"Dude, what's your deal?"

It's not my deal Sam, it's Casey's. Walk with me, talk with me." He said, leading Sam away from the door. Once down the street a little, Derek started explaining.

"You see Sam," he started, trying to formulate a plan in his mind, "Casey thinks you two are headed for a break up. She says you're not the guy she thought you were. She needs her space dude."

"Seriously man?"

"Seriously. You almost just blew it in there. I've been trying to cover for you for a few days now but I knew I was going to have to get to you and talk to you about it, but I didn't know how serious it was until she started talking to me today. She's a free spirit, and needs her room to grow as a person." He finished. Grow as a person? Free spirit? He thought to himself, where do I come up with this crap?

"Oh dude, I had no idea. I mean, I got the feeling she was giving me the cold shoulder but I just assumed that some flowers and quality time was all the relationship needed. Thanks for telling me before I screwed it up man. I really like her." Sam said, embarrassed that he was still holding the roses. Ouch, thought Derek, how could I even be doing this? He really likes her, I probably just want her for her body, and then I'll get past it. That was good though, right? Then he could have her out of his system and move on while she and Sam lived happily ever after. She and Sam? Living happily ever after? But that should be him with her…shouldn't it?

They had reached Sam's house. "Well dude, all I can say is, trust me, she'll call you when she's ready. Don't push her into spending time with you, act like a dude and blow her off for your friends every once in a while. Girls like strong guys like that. I'm sure it'll all work out."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Derek threw some clothes haphazardly into a suitcase along with his toothbrush, ipod, and a few magazines. He had always been a last minute packer. He grabbed his bag quickly zipping it shut and slung his sleeping bag over his back as he walked down the stairs. Casey was struggling to open the garage door with all four of her bags and her sleeping bag. Derek dropped his things and ran to open the door for her.

"Thanks Derek!" Casey said, looking at him with a surprised look on his face.

"Yeah, well, I knew otherwise we'd never get out of here." Derek said. "Four bags?" He asked with a mocking look on his face, "Hope you didn't forget anything!" Casey had had everything packed and laid out and a list checked off since the night before. If she had to go camping she was gonna make it fun, and had packed every necessity she could think of.

"I knew it was too good to be true, you don't know how to be nice, especially not this early in the morning." Casey said as she rolled her eyes and hauled her bags outside. Derek followed her out to the garage, finding the rest of the family staring at them and the car.

"Oh no…" Said Nora, under her breath.

"What's the problem Nora?" Asked Derek.

"What's the problem Derek? Just look at the car!" Casey shouted. It was pretty much packed to the hilt, with barely room for 5 passengers.

"Okay, no problem, I'll just take my car." Derek stated, proud of his solution.

"Your car?" Casey asked. "Your dinky crapwagon isn't going to fit any more than the Suburban." Casey said. "Besides, you don't even know how to drive it."

"I do too! I graduated drivers ed." Derek defended.

"Yeah well, so did I, but I got my license on the first try." Casey teased.

"I would have if my first test administrator hadn't been such a hottie. What was I

supposed to do in front of that babe, drive like Grandma? Besides, a lot of good your license will do you without a car."

"Wait, wait, wait guys." George said, trying to calm the uprising storm.

"Yeah, my babies are not driving 4 hours to the campground in that thing." Nora said, almost in hysterics.

"Now, honey, calm down. First of all they're not babies" said George.

"Yeah!" agreed Casey, Derek, Edwin, and Lizzie.

"And we could just load everything in Derek's car and let him follow behind us. That way none of your…young adults, would have to ride in his…crapwagon.

"Dad," started Derek, "There's no way all that is gonna fit in my car."

"Okay, well, plan B. The annoying teenagers ride in that car, with their bags, and the distracting children ride in the SUV with us." Said George.

"Honey…" Nora said, turning her back to them all, "They'll kill each other" they heard her say.

"No we won't." Said Derek, as he put his arm around Casey's shoulder pulling her into a fake embrace.

"Yes, we will." Said Casey taking his arm off of her. "We need a new plan." After much deliberating and contemplating and trying to repack the SUV, it was agreed upon that everyone was not going to fit.

"Casey," Derek said, turning to his stepsister, "This is our chance to prove ourselves to our parents. If we can pull this off, I'll bet they'd agree to a road trip before we have to go back to school!" Casey only looked at him, skeptically. "C'mon Dad, Nora…" said Derek, "We'll get along!" as he picked up one of Casey's bags and put it in the back seat of his…crapwagon.

"I don't know honey" said Nora "You haven't had your license that long and it's a long drive and your car is so small, and what if we lose sight of each other and your car breaks down and" She was cut off by Derek.

"Check it out" He pulled out his cell phone. "Anything happens, you guys are a phone call away!"

"Casey, how do you feel about this?" Asked Nora.

"Mom, if it's the only way, we'll show how mature we are and work through it." Casey stated, pasting a big fake smile on her face, trying to think of all the freedom she would earn by showing her maturity level. Derek breathed a sigh of relief. He did not want to drive 4 hours by himself, and neither did he want his Dad and Nora to think about splitting up and each going in one car. Luckily, the thought had yet to travel through either of his parents heads.

"Okay, then it's settled." Said Derek, loading the rest of Casey's things into his car.

"Thank you Derek." Said Casey, as she slid into the passenger seat.

"You're very welcome Casey." Said Derek, as he got into the drivers seat. The whole family stared, and then started loading themselves into the family's SUV.

"I mean it Derek, you owe me." Said Casey as she smiled through the window to her family while they were pulling out of the driveway.

"Whatever Casey, you and I both know you want that road trip permission just as much as I do. If we prove it to them we can be responsible on this trip, they have to let us go down to the states before school starts again." Derek said as he pulled out of the drive with his family.

Casey knew that he was right, she had been dying to see New York, and she didn't really care how she got there. She just hoped Derek wouldn't be a jerk to her the whole ride up, because if he was, she knew she wouldn't be able to handle a real road trip with him anyhow. She had agreed to do it though, mostly, because he was a lot less of a jerk to her lately than he normally was. She wondered what was up with that. Maybe he really is maturing, thought Casey.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

They were stopped at a rest stop, mainly because they had followed the family into it. The three kids, Nora, and George all got out of the SUV to use the restrooms. Derek pulled into a parking space a little away, and turned off the engine. Casey had fallen to sleep, they had only been on the road an hour, but it was still only 6 in the morning. He looked at her.

Damn, how does she do it? He thought to himself. She looked so peaceful sleeping there; he hated to wake her up. But he knew if he didn't she'd probably wake up 15 minutes down the road and have to go.

"Hey Casey…" He said quietly, as he brushed her hair out of her face. "Casey, we're at a rest stop, do you wanna go while we're here?"

"Hmmm?" Mumbled Casey, turning over a little. Derek could now see her soft lips.

"We're at a rest stop. Do you need to go?" He asked again, only this time brushing his hand across her face. She woke up with a dreamy look in her eye, placed her hand on top of his, and then realized who it was. She threw his hand off of her face and sat up quickly.

"Why were you touching me!" She asked him in an angry tone.

"Whatever psycho, we're at a rest stop. I was trying to wake you up for like five minutes, you've been snoring so bad." That was a lie. But he had to think of something, because that was a little weird. He got out of the car and slammed the door. Casey followed, hot on his heels.

"I felt your hand on my cheek, and saw the way you were looking at me Derek." She hissed behind him.

"In your dreams babe." He said walking into the men's room.

Little did they know that in the mean time, another "crapwagon" had pulled into the space behind his parents SUV, and were now loading back up. The other part of the family had loaded into the SUV, and had started to pull out, wondering why the crapwagon wasn't following yet. They could slightly make out two figures in it, the same view they had had the whole time. Finally, the crapwagon pulled out behind them, and turned following them back down the hallway. Problem? It wasn't Derek's crapwagon.

They both finished up in the bathrooms and headed back out to the car. When they had gotten near enough to their parking spot they noticed the SUV was missing.

"Where's the Suburban?" Asked Casey nervously.

"I don't know. Don't panic though; they wouldn't have just left us at a rest stop. I'll look around the parking lot, and you go back to the bathrooms and see if you can find Dad or Nora." Derek instructed calmly, even though he was panicking inside. They went their separate ways, and met back up about 5 minutes later, each of their searches having failed.

"It's okay." Derek said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. "I'll just call dad and see what happened." He dialed the phone, and then looked confused. "It's not working." He looked down at his phone. "No service…"

"What! What do you mean no service?" She demanded of him.

"I mean, I don't have a signal!" He shouted back at her.

"Oh my God! We're lost! Do you even know where we are?"

"No, but I know what direction we were heading in. Let's get back in the car and catch up to them. They can't have gotten that far." Derek said. They both rushed back to his crapwagon and buckled up as they pulled out and back onto the highway.

Derek handed Casey the phone. "Keep trying." He told her. Casey just looked at the thing.

"Derek?" She asked.

"Yeah?"

"You're almost out of battery."

"Oh, here, just plug it in my…" he began, then looked around nervously. Had he taken his charger out of his car? Then he remembered…it was still in the suburban. "Oh no!" He groaned.

"Oh no what? Where's your cell phone charger!" She panicked again.

"Casey, calm down! It's in the suburban, we'll just have to catch up to them.

"But what if they've gotten off at an exit, or turned somewhere, or are going a different way?" She asked, tearing up. Oh God, he hated it when she cried. He could never handle it when she cried. It made him hurt to see her cry.

"It's okay Casey. Listen to me," He said, putting his hand on her back. "It's about a 4 hours trip, right? Well, we're only 1 hour into it. They can't be turning off and finding a camp ground already, we've got 3 more hours to go, and I doubt it'll be on surface streets." He rubbed his hand back and forth across her back to calm her down, steering with the other hand.

And he was right, there was 3 more hours to go and they weren't heading down surface streets. What they didn't realize, was that the SUV had already merged onto another highway, with the other crapwagon following.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

They had been driving for nearly an hour. Derek was getting worried. Really worried. Casey had been staring out her window the entire time, every once in a while asking if couldn't go any faster and then reminding him of the speed limit. He felt bad, as though this was his fault. He wasn't sure what to say to her. He wasn't sure how to get home. He wasn't even sure if they were going in the right direction anymore. His cell phone had died, and the only thing that kept him from pulling into a restaurant to use their phone was his pride.

Finally, he broke the silence. "Hey Case?"

"We're not going to find them are we Derek?" She asked, sighing as she turned to face it.

"Well, it's possible that their just 5 minutes up the road ahead of us. But it's possible they're not. I think, for them, not really for us, that we should pull into a gas station or restaurant and ask to use the phone. Just so we can let them know we're okay and behind them, in case they've been wondering."

"Yeah, they've probably been worried sick huh? And of course your cell phone hasn't been on and working." She laughed. She actually laughed. Although they were in a predicament, and although she was stuck in a car with Derek, she really wasn't all that upset about it. They hadn't been fighting. They'd actually been getting along nicely.

"Yeah, I can't believe I forgot my phone charger." He said, laughing.

"Me either. But that's what you get for being so last minute."

"Well, at least it's better than spending all my time making lists and packing and unpacking and repacking over and over again until I'm sure it's perfect." He said, lightly. But the tension was building. They could both feel it.

"At least I have everything I need. And being responsible probably wouldn't have gotten us lost the way you have."

"The way I have? I got us lost? You're the one who wouldn't wake up and then wasted time in the bathroom! No wonder they left, I should've left without you too!"

"You came out the same time I did!" she shouted at him.

"Because I had to spend all of that time waking you up! Don't you sleep at night!"

"I'm sorry I was too busy thinking about my lazy ass boyfriend who doesn't give a damn!" Ouch. She had let it slip. Derek was sorry now, he knew that it truly was his fault, but she didn't know it. A single tear rolled down her cheek. They pulled into a gas station.

"Casey, don't cry." Derek said, as he wiped the tear from her cheek with his thumb and turned her face towards her. "I'm sorry." He said. Crying girls had always been his weakness. He couldn't do anything if the girl was crying.

"It's fine, it's my fault. Let's just call." She muttered, turning away from him and slamming the car door as she walked outside toward the gas station entrance.

Derek shook his head and thought to himself, it's for he best. He would have broken her heart anyhow. Who was he kidding? Sam wouldn't have broken her heart. That was the problem. If he had let them, they'd probably be together forever. Why did that thought make Derek so unhappy? It's the perfect excuse to always be in touch with your childhood best friend.

But he didn't want to stay in contact with Sam for ever. He could care less if they stayed in contact forever. What he needed though, was to stay with Casey forever. He needed to have her by his side. He needed her to be…his. Not Sam's. Derek quickly got out of the car and shut the door.

He chased after her, and grabbed her arm just as she had reached the counter and was asking for the phone.

"Hey, why don't you go splash some water on your face, get refreshed, and I'll make the call. It's my fault anyhow, we should've stopped to call earlier. I'll take the blame." He stated. She looked at him, shocked.

"What are you talking about?" She asked him.

"Case, do you even want to be camping this week?" He asked her seriously.

"Well, we were supposed to all go as a family, I guess, if that's what you mean. I suppose it would have been an experience." She said, looking down at her feet, not really sure how to face him. She wanted to tell him she wasn't up to it, but she knew he was into this sort of thing, and she didn't want to ruin his camping trip.

He could tell by the look on her face that she didn't really relish the thought of spending a week in the woods. But he couldn't take her back home to…Sam. Just the thought upset him. He had a plan.

"Go splash some water on your face. I'll call." He said simply, directing her towards the bathroom.

Derek made the call to his parents. Oh boy was he in trouble. However, they were glad that he and Casey were all right, and they gave him directions to the campground. But Derek had other plans. He begged his parents to let them simply go home, telling them Casey had really been traumatized, and was so tired. Then he played another card. They had really gotten to talking in the car on the trip (he told them), and she had revealed to him how much she didn't want this trip, and to be honest, neither did he. He lied. She didn't tell him that and he sort of had looked forward to the fishing, but his plan was much better.

They had just agreed to let him drive her home, deciding over this experience the teens had bonded and they might come home to a happy brother and sister. When Casey was coming out of the bathroom, looking very refreshed, Derek rushed through to the end of the conversation and hung up the phone.

"What was that all about?" Casey asked. "Don't I get to put in my side of the story?"

"Nope, I did better than that." He told her, a smirk spreading across his face.

"What are you talking about?" Casey asked, this time a little worried.

"We get to go to the states." He told her. He lied. His parents gave him permission to go home, not to the states. But Casey would never go with him if he hadn't told her they had permission.

"But I didn't pack for the states…" She started, but he quickly interrupted her.

"You have everything you could possibly need for any vacation you could ever want to take!" He said, laughing, and putting his arm around to get her out of the restaurant before the waitress revealed what she had overheard from the phone conversation.

Once outside he continued. "They aren't giving us permission for a huge road trip, they want us back by the time they get home." Casey looked a little disappointed by this.

"Will we have time to go to New York?" She asked him.

"You bet! And lots of other states on the way!" He told her, smiling.

Casey jumped up and down with delight. "Oh Derek, sometimes you can be so infuriating, and then sometimes you can just be so great!" She said, throwing her arms around him. He held the embrace and smelled her hair, he never wanted to let go. But it ended all too soon.

"Wait…why are you doing this?" Casey asked finally, with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well, I want to go to the states too, you know. You don't honestly think I'm doing this all for you, do you?" He asked her, with a surprised look on his face that she could think so much of herself. "I'm not that nice." Again with the lying, he thought to himself. He was turning into a total sap, but it was for her. He had a realization in the car before he made that phone call. He wanted her by his side, and by the end of this trip, he'd have her.

Casey rolled her eyes. "I should've known better than to think you'd actually do anything for me." But nonetheless, she ran to the car and excitedly buckled in.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

They stopped to pick up a map, some Oreos and milk, and of course gas at the nearest gas station. Derek breathed a sigh of relief when he realized they had actually been heading toward the states for the past 2 hours, not to mention the fact that he still had his parent's credit card from getting groceries the day before.

"Here's the deal." He told Casey. "According to this map, we should be able to get to New York in about 8 more hours!"

Casey's eyes widened. "Are you serious? We're that close?" She asked him.

"Yeah, we could've gotten there faster, but we were sort of on a slight detour. Luckily though, we have been heading toward the states this whole time, so we didn't lose too much time. And secondly," he began, "Dad and Nora said we could use the credit card, but we had to pay back however much we charged on it." That wasn't a total lie.

They had told him he could use it to fill the tank since he didn't have any cash with him, but that he'd have to pay it back. He would figure out a way to explain it all to them later…somehow. For now he just had to do this…with Casey. Have an adventure; and make her realize how much he wanted to be with her…and maybe she'd want to be with him too.

Derek's heart skipped a beat as she threw her arms around him and pulled him into a tight warm hug. He willingly hugged back, his heart pounding madly. Unfortunately Casey pulled away, but she looked at him with her sparkling blue eyes, a new sort of sparkle in them.

"This is going to be the best trip ever!" She shouted at him enthusiastically.

"Well, lets go!" He said, opening the car door for her. She stepped in and buckled up, while Derek walked around to the other side of the car.

"Okay Derek…" he said to himself, "just slow yourself down. You can make this happen, but not right now. She'll be too freaked out if she figures it out right now, you've gotta let this come slowly." He reassured himself. "But what if she doesn't want it? What if no matter when it happens she rejects me?" He asked himself before getting into the car.

Casey honked the horn and rolled down the window. "Derek, what are you doing out there? C'mon, we're only 8 hours from New York!" She encouraged him, as he climbed in and started the engine.

In no time they were back on the freeways, with the radio blaring loudly and windows rolled down. They were singing the words to each other and to the windows, laughing at how horrible they actually sounded.

Casey couldn't believe it. She was actually on he way to New York! She would actually get to be in New York before summer was over, and it would be with Derek. If you had told her a month ago that she would be in New York with Derek, she either wouldn't have believed you or she would have complained about it. But he had been so great to her during this time with Sam…What was Sam doing, she wondered. She didn't suppose she cared much at this point, which was a terrible thing to think about someone you're supposed to be in a relationship with, but she felt that Sam had sort of ditched her lately and Derek had been there to pick her up and put her back on her feet every time Sam broke her heart.

She was happy to be going with Derek. Something just felt right about being with him, singing with him, being in his crapwagon of a vehicle and trusting him with her safety, trusting him to know where they were going. He looked really cute singing that song, but she shouldn't think like that. Not only because she had a boyfriend, but because he was her stepbrother. And he was just being nice to her. She was sure once they got to New York he'd probably leave her stranded at central park while he went to pick up chicks. But for now, she'd just enjoy the moment.

After scarfing a few oreos and guzzling some milk, they both felt a lot better having some sugar running through their systems. It was quickly lost, however, as Casey fell back to sleep in the passenger seat and Derek was left to his thoughts about their road trip, and his deception.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Derek looked over at Casey as he was trying to decide whether or not to pull over into a camp sight. She was sleeping peacefully in the seat beside him. He had been driving for about 8 hours total now, and they were only 2 hours from New York. However, they had stopped for lunch and dinner at two different restaurants on the way, and had stopped to take a walk when they needed to stretch their legs.

By now it was almost 7 in the evening and it was getting dark. He was wondering whether he should go to a hotel, but he knew that that would be very expensive, and they did have some of the camping gear. Besides which, Casey had told him she was sort of excited, she had never been camping before.

Derek pulled in to the camp sight and quietly unloaded some things from the car. After about 30 minutes of struggling, he got the tent put up and the sleeping bags rolled out in them. He hung a sheet in the middle, separating the sides, because he knew that Casey would ask about something like this, and if he didn't think of it she would be suspicious.

She looked so peaceful, but he thought maybe she'd be more comfortable in her sleeping bag than sleeping in an upright position in the car. He brushed his had on her cheek and allowed it to linger for a second longer than he would have under other conditions. She stirred under his hand and woke up.

"Hey" He said. "Driving got old, so I figured we'd camp out tonight and continue on first thing in the morning." He saw the look on her face and wasn't sure how to read it. Was she…disappointed? "It's just that you said you'd never been camping before, and I figured since hotels would be expensive we wouldn't want to spend that and all…" She was still just looking at him. "And I know you don't like driving my crapwagon…"

Casey burst out laughing. "Did you just call your car the crapwagon!" She asked. "And how fast do you talk now, a mile a minute, what did you take?" She was still laughing.

"Okay, haha." Derek said. "C'mon, it's all set up. I'll build a campfire. I think we have the smores in this car."

Casey's eyes sparkled as she unpacked her things and got the smores ready to be made and watched Derek build a campfire. He struggled with it a little, finally they went to go find some better wood than the last campers left, and eventually get a roaring fire going (which was good, because it was just about dark and a chill had set in the air.)

They made their smores, a very messy affair as it turned out to be, and stared into the fire. Casey shivered as a chill set over her body and the wind blew past them. Derek saw this and took of his jacket and put it around her shoulders.

"Is this safe?" She asked, looking at the jacket he had just put on her. He looked at her with a puzzled face. "I mean, it probably hasn't been washed in years, how many disease are on it by now?" She asked, laughing as she nudged into his side, causing him to sway slightly.

Derek's heart pounded, but he put on a good show. "Well, I could always throw it into the stream! That would wash it!" He joked, then suddenly he picked her up and swung her over his shoulder.

"What? Derek no! It's freezing, I'll die!" Casey shouted at him while pounding on his back.

"But at least the coat will be clean." Derek said, as he reluctantly put her down. Their eyes locked as they stood by the fire, and another shiver went up Casey's spine. Both of their hearts were pounding. Should I kiss her, he thought to himself. Is he going to kiss me, she thought to herself.

Casey broke eye contact. What the hell was she thinking? "Well, it's getting cold, so I think I'm gonna go change and get set for bed." Casey said, quietly. She took off his jacket and handed it to him.

"You sure you won't need this on the way to the tent?" He asked her, out of breath.

"I think I'll survive." She told him, teasingly as she turned around and headed off for the tent.

"Oh God." Derek said to himself once she was out of hearing range. "What the hell am I doing? This will never work! She's too perfect, she's too good for me. But she's too good for Sam. I can't stand it when she's with him. She should be with me…" He let his thoughts carry him away as he stared into the fire.

Casey thought while she changed into a pair of warm pajama pants and a tank top, finally putting on a sweatshirt to help keep herself warm. "What the hell is gong on?" she thought to herself. "Why am I feeling this way? Derek has been so awesome, and he's actually treating me like a human being, like he actually cares about me. But I shouldn't have these feeling for him. But he was definitely looking back into my eyes. I've never seen his eyes so dark before…" She let her thoughts carry her away as she walked back out to sit by the fire.

"This isn't going to last for much longer." She said, shocking Derek out of his thoughts. "You're going to have to go change before I freeze out here."

"I hung a sheet, you can go to bed if you need to. I'll change later behind the sheet on my side. Unless you won't be able to resist peeking?" He said, lifting an eyebrow. Was I just openly flirting with her? Derek thought to himself.

Casey laughed. "You wish." She said. "Then I'm going to go lay down and you can put yourself to bed whenever you feel like." she told him. She got back up and started to walk towards the tent. She heard Derek putting out the fire and she smiled as she entered the tent and laid down in her sleeping bag. It felt nice and she started to warm up when the tent flap opened and Derek went in to his side.

Derek had put the fire out and was changing. He couldn't get over the fact that she was right there, that he was changing with her just on the other side of that sheet. She was laying down on the other side of that sheet. In her pajamas. Cold. If there was ever a time to show her how he felt, tonight would be the night to ease into it. It was the perfect excuse to snuggle, her being cold and all.

Once he was changed he climbed into his sleeping bag. "Hey Case?" He cautiously asked.

"Yeah?" He heard her ask from the other side.

"Are you cold?"

"Yeah, a little."

"Oh."

Suddenly, the sheet was swung to the side and he was looking at her eye to eye.

"Sorry, I felt silly talking to you through a sheet. It's a good idea and all, especially with our history and privacy needs and while we're changing and all…" She started

"But…" he offered.

"But, we've been getting along really well and I feel silly knowing you're on the other side and just ignoring you." She finished.

"Good. Me too." He stated. And it was true. He hated to even put the sheet up, but he was afraid that if he didn't Casey would freak about them being in such close proximity. Derek stood up and pulled the sheet down. He laid it on top of her. "That should help." He said, talking about her being a little cold.

Casey rolled her eyes and looked at him. "Just what I need, a cold sheet that's been blowing in the wind for the past 2 hours." She said sarcastically.

"Sorry." Derek said, pulling the sheet off of her. His hand lingered over the small of her back coming back up from taking the sheet off from over he sleeping bag. Casey placed her hand on top of his as he was pulling it away. Their eyes locked.

"It's okay." Casey whispered.

"Hey Case?" Derek asked, leaning in closer, staring at her mouth. She didn't notice because she had been staring at his.

"Yeah?" She asked.

His lips brushed lightly against hers. Just as he was about to pull away…she kissed him back? Casey McDonald was actually kissing Derek Venturi back! He couldn't believe it. With this encouragement he took over the kiss. It became rougher, more passionate, finally unmasking everything he had been feeling for her over the past year of being her stepbrother. His tongue slipped into her mouth without even asking permission. He took her upper lip into his mouth and sucked, as she nibbled on his lower lip. Shivers went up his spine, and he almost moaned into her mouth. He caught himself though.

What was he doing? He had promised himself this wouldn't happen until much later in the trip. Casey was going to freak out and he would have to take her back home…to Sam. Casey pulled away, Derek very reluctantly let her go.

"What was that?" she whispered out of breath.

But when she opened her eyes, Derek was gone.


	9. Chapter 9

**Authors note**: Over 1200 hits and only 5 reviews. Ouch guys. R&R please, let me know what to do and if I suck.

Lava

Chapter 9

Casey glanced around the tent nervously. What had just happened? Did she just kiss Derek? And now he was gone? Oh no! How embarrassing, she thought to herself. But Derek had kissed her back, hadn't he? Casey had an excuse; she was on the rebound from Sam, sort of. They hadn't exactly broken up yet, but Casey knew it had been coming for a long time.

But what about Derek? Why had he kissed her back? Just a reflex, she supposed. He had kissed so many girls…and done so much more…ugh, she shuddered at the thought. But why should she care? It's not like she had feelings for him or anything. Did she?

Casey had been thinking about Derek an awful lot lately while she should have been thinking about Sam. Come to think of it, she had been spending an awful lot of time with Derek while she was supposed to be spending time with Sam. But she had never blown Sam off; he had always been the one to blow her off. So she didn't suppose she felt so bad about spending time with family while Sam was off doing…whatever he did every time he was too busy to be with her.

Family. Ouch. Derek was family. That's right. He's was her stepbrother. She couldn't have feelings for him in any case. She sighed as she stood up. She would have to clear this up right here and right now, or else this entire road trip would be ruined. She didn't have feelings for Derek; she was simply on the rebound with Sam. And she would promise not to let things get funny if he promised not to let things get funny.

It was freezing outside her sleeping bag, and even more freezing outside the tent.

"Derek!" She called. She really didn't want to be out here. Even if she was wearing a sweatshirt, it was frickin freezing. She heard a rustle on the other side of the tent. She walked around, revealing Derek sitting on the opposite side of the tent, playing with a stick he had found.

"Derek…" She began. He looked up at her, he looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry." They both said at the same time. They looked at eachtoher confusedly.

"What are you sorry for?" Derek asked?

"Well, for kissing you…" she answered, looking at her feet while she shuffled. "What are you sorry for?" she asked him in return.

"Well, I thought I was sorry for kissing you, but since you seem to have taken the blame for that one…night!" He said, getting up and walking around to the tent flap. Casey followed him, she wasn't letting him get away with it that easily.

"Derek, wait, we have to talk about this." She stopped him, grabbing on to his arm.

Derek wanted nothing more than to kiss her right then and there, but he saw her shivering. "Do you want to go talk about this in your sleeping bag?" He asked. She raised her eyebrows in shock. "No, I'll be in my sleeping bag and you'll be in yours. You must be freezing out here."

Casey breathed a sigh of relief. "That would be great. I am freezing, I'm surprised you're not cold." She said, as she stepped into the tent.

Let's just say I'd be a lot warmer if I were holding you right now, he thought to himself. He thanked God he hadn't said that out loud.

Once they were both situated in their sleeping bags, they just stared at each other. Casey's mouth opened and closed, as if she was formulating in her mind what to say. She was avoiding all eye contact, which was good, since Derek continually found himself staring at her mouth as it opened and shut. She has beautiful lips, he thought to himself.

At this point, he knew. He knew that it was not going to be just a matter of kissing her and getting over it, or even having her and getting over it. He had kissed her, and it had been like no kiss he had ever experienced before. This kiss had spark, it had fireworks, it had something that all of his other kisses had never held. It was the reason he had wanted to kiss her in the first place. He had butterflies in his stomach just thinking of kissing her again, but he knew that that would not be wise.

Casey spoke first. "Derek, first off, I want to thank you for being there for me with this whole thing I'm going through with Sam." She was still avoiding eye contact. "I know I'm not your favorite person in the world to be around, and I know that you've been there to pick me up and take me out and get my mind off of things every time Sam has blown me off, and…so…thanks." She finished. She finally looked him in the eye. Derek looked up from her mouth and looked into her eyes.

"I don't hate spending time with Case, as long as you're not bitching at me." That was lie. He loved spending time with her even when she was bitching at him. She was hot when she was pissed.

"Secondly," she began, "I'm sorry about this whole kiss thing, and I don't want it to ruin this road trip. I don't blame you if you want to just run around and go home right now, but I know that you had said you wanted to come to New York too and I don't want to ruin that for you." She finished, a little out of breath.

"Good. I don't want the trip to be over, and I'm sorry too." He said seriously, looking into her eyes.

"It's just that, without Sam…I mean I've been missing him so much, and it was just like a reflex."

"Uhuh." Derek said, his face falling. Casey didn't notice and continued talking.

"And I know that you've just kissed so many girls and it was just a reflex for you to kiss me back." She stated.

Derek was silent at first. His head was screaming to him to just tell her how he felt. Tell her that this kiss had felt like no other kiss he had in his entire life, and to tell her that he loved her, as more than just a stepsister. Did he love her? He was lost in his thoughts.

"Derek? Have you been listening?" Casey asked, pulling him away from his thoughts.

"What? Oh yeah. I mean it all makes sense now. You've been missing Sam and you're the only girl I've come into contact with today, so it just happened. No biggie." He said, and rolled over on his side to sleep. No biggie? He asked himself. That was lame. Why couldn't he just tell her?

Casey was a little hurt by this. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, that kiss was pretty good. Better than any kiss she had ever shared with Sam, or with any other boy for that matter. Was it really not a big thing to Derek? She too rolled over on her side to get some sleep…or try to.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next morning was Sunday, and Casey and Derek were lying in quite a compromising position. The sleeping bags were the only thing separating their bodies, which looked like they had been pasted together in the middle of the night. Their arms were tangled around each other; Casey and her sleeping bag were slightly on top of Derek and his sleeping bag, with her head lying on his chest.

Casey was the first to wake up. She looked at their positions; and not wanting to yet face the fact that they were lying on top of each other, she drifted back to sleep.

Derek was the next to wake up. He realized he was holding her and stroked a piece of hair out of her face. Damn, did she look beautiful sleeping there peacefully…on top of him? Oh no…what was he going to do? He didn't want her to be suspicious. Damn she was turning him on. And she was so close. And she smelled so good. He wondered if she would wake up if he were to just kiss her lightly. Better not risk it, he thought to himself.

He started to scoot himself out from under her, but she was beginning to stir. Oh no. She couldn't wake up and see them like this. What would she think? She would most definitely freak out and the trip would be ruined. But it wasn't even the trip that bothered him. He just couldn't take her home. Not yet. Not to Sam. Not with the way she obviously still felt about him. The only reason she had even kissed him back was because she was on the rebound from Sam. She had told him that last night. His insides ached at the thought.

Casey blinked her eyes open, and turned her head up to look at his face.

"Morning." Derek whispered, nervously.

"Morning." Casey whispered back…with a smile on her face. "We must have been cold." She murmured. She had thought of her reply when she had awoken earlier that morning. It was true, they probably had gotten cold and that was how they had found each other in the middle of the night.

Casey started to slide off of him, but he caught her by her lower back. She propped herself up on her elbow, on his solid chest, and looked into his eyes. There was something there, in them, something pleading with her.

"What's wrong?" She asked him, concerned.

"What? Nothing." He said, letting go of her as she slid the rest of the way off of him and on to the rather uncomfortable floor of the tent. "I must still be sleeping." He rubbed his eyes groggily and got up. As he exited the tent Casey called after him.

"Don't come in here because I'm going to change, alright?"

"Okay." She heard him yell back as he walked off. She thought she heard him curse, but she disregarded it as she searched through her bags for what to wear.

Casey quickly got dressed and grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste. She walked out of the tent to find Derek getting the fire going and rifling through some things in a cooler, probably looking for breakfast.

"So, how does one brush their teeth while camping?" She asked him embarrassedly, waving her toothbrush and toothpaste.

"One generally doesn't, but if you must." He said, rolling his eyes, as he threw her a water bottle.

Casey vigorously brushed her teeth quickly and went around to the other side of the tent to spit. She didn't know why she was so embarrassed, he'd seen her spit into the sink lots of time at home, but that was into a sink, and out here it was just…on the ground. Ew.

When she came back around the corner she found Derek, having come up empty handed for breakfast, heading back to the tent.

"We better pack up and be on our way if we want to eat, unless you want smores for breakfast." He said, looking a little disappointed that they had come up so short on food.

"Well, look on the bright side." Casey said. "At least the rest of the family isn't stranded in the woods for a week without food." She laughed at this thought and kicked herself after she said it. They could after all just drive somewhere to pick up some food as opposed to being stranded. She must have sounded like such a dork. But Derek simply smiled at her.

"Yeah, with our history my dad probably would have just made a big deal about foraging and living off the land." He chuckled to himself at the idea. Suddenly, Casey didn't feel like such an idiot, and was chuckling along side him.

They packed up the car and were back on their way in a little less than a half hour. Casey was pleasantly surprised to see the clock in the car read 8:30. This was normal for Casey, but not for Derek.

"So what drove you out of bed before noon on a Sunday anyhow?" Casey asked him, cautiously.

"Well, you see, I was being suffocated by this thing that had found it's way on top of me in the middle of the night." Derek answered, jokingly.

Casey looked down at her lap and blushed. She knew she should have gotten off of him as soon as she had woken up that morning. Then he would have never known she was on top of him. This was going to make the trip awkward, she could already tell.

"Sorry." She said quietly, still looking at her lap.

"Don't worry about it." Derek said, noting the look of distress on her face. "It wasn't so bad. Better than freezing to death, right?" He asked her smiling, still keeping his eyes on the road. He was thankful that he was driving. If he had to look in her eyes he was sure she would have seen the truth, she would have seen his feelings for her.

Casey laughed nervously. "Yeah…" she said in a low voice, never taking her eyes off of her hands that rested in her lap.

They pulled into a pancake house and sat down to have breakfast. They were both hungry. They had stopped to eat the night before around 5:00 and had only had smores the night before. The waitress who took their orders asked about their accents. They found this funny since she was the one that really had an accent, but they explained that they were from Canada. When the waitress told them what a cute couple they made, neither took the opportunity to correct her.

Once their orders arrived (blueberry waffles with eggs, bacon and sausage for Derek, and country skillet for Casey) and they had some peace and quiet, Derek began a conversation.

"So, we make a cute couple." He started, with a smirk, taking a bite of one of his waffles.

Casey rolled her eyes at his antics. She knew he was trying to make her feel uncomfortable, and she wasn't going to let him. "I've known that all along." She stated, coyly, slipping a country potato into her mouth seductively.

Derek gulped. His plan was backfiring. He was trying to lighten the conversation and get some things back to the way they used to be for a while. Just for some of the trip, so that it wouldn't have all of this tension attached to it. He didn't want her to hate him, but he didn't want her avoiding him either.

He opened his mouth but then closed it just as quickly. He couldn't think of anything to say, he just stared at her mouth where that country potato had been allowed entrance and gaped.

"The great Derek Venturi is speechless?" Casey began in a mocking voice. "I know why you brought me Derek." Casey said, stretching her arms up over her head lazily, revealing a portion of her midriff.

"You do?" Derek asked nervously.

"Of course I do." Casey finished. She took her hair out of the messy bun she had put it in that morning, and let it cascade around her shoulders. "I'm just a distraction until you can get to New York to pick up all those other girls you'll have this week." She finished stretching and leaned on the table, taking a bite of eggs and licking her fork seductively as she stared into his eyes. It was at that moment she realized he didn't get it.

Casey suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Derek saw this and smirked. It was then that she re-realized what had just happened.

"Ugh, and I thought I had you going there." She said, breaking into a grin.

"Yeah Case, you sure did fool me." Derek guffawed. He suddenly became very intent on his plate and shoveled food into his mouth like there was no tomorrow.

Casey really had to pee. She hadn't gone since they had stopped at the restaurant yesterday. There was no way she was going to pee in a bush, she told herself. She took this opportunity to excuse herself to the bathroom, since Derek obviously had lost interest in her jokes and was much more enthralled with his food.

Derek laid his forehead down on the table and banged it lightly, cursing himself for finding her so attractive. I covered it though, he thought to himself. It was then that he realized he had better to go to the bathroom too; there hadn't really been an opportunity for him that morning.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**: Sorry it took so long guys, I was going to try for a chapter a day, but this week was hell, and now the weekend too. Let's just say I had to get a new car, homework is not done, my dog had to be put down, and my house and my life are still a mess. Here is chapter 11.

Chapter 11

Derek opened the bathroom door, hitting Casey in the nose and throwing her against the opposite wall. She landed on her butt, and held her nose with her hand.

"Ow!" She shouted.

"Oh my God! Casey!" Derek ran into the restroom, letting the door shut behind him. He helped her up from the cold tiled floor.

"Derek, what the hell are you doing? This is the ladies room!" Casey shouted at him, still holding her nose.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking." His tone was worried. He rushed her over to the sink and had her bend over it while he grabbed some paper towels and started running them under cool water.

Casey's nose bled a little, not much at all, but Derek was so worried about hurting her. Why? She thought to herself. If this had happened at home, he probably would have laughed and shoved me out the door, telling me that's what I get for hogging the bathroom.

"Okay, sit up here and let me look at it." He told her. He picked her up by the hips and set her on the bathroom counter. He removed the paper towels and her hand from her nose. While holding her hands and the towels in his left hand, he examined her nose with his right.

"It's not broken." He told her reassuringly.

"Then why does it hurt like hell?" She asked him, breaking one hand free of his grip to hold her nose with it.

Derek looked into her eyes seriously. Even with her sitting up on the counter he was still eye level with her. That's probably why he had you sit up here, she told herself.

"I'm sorry." He said to her. He looked so solemn.

"Derek, It's fine. It's not a big deal." She told him, in a nasally voice with her hand still applying pressure to her wound. "It's just a nose."

"That's not all I'm sorry for." He whispered. They were so close at that point; all Derek would have had to do to kiss her would be lean forward two inches.

Casey's eyes fluttered as she felt his breath tickle her cheek. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she felt self-conscious and wondered if he could hear it, it was so loud in her ears.

Derek knew that he had hurt her in much worse ways than this. Throughout the constant fighting, he had said some pretty awful things to her. He had knocked her down both physically and emotionally before, and he had never apologized, not straight out. Never a single "I'm sorry" so long as they'd been living under one roof.

But for some reason, right now, all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and comfort this small hurt he had laid on top of the large pile of hurt he had previously bestowed upon her. He couldn't help himself. She was looking straight into his eyes.

Derek took her hand off of her nose, and leaned in to give it a very gentle kiss. After kissing her nose, be it unfortunately or fortunately, he found his way to her lips as well. They were so soft, and she smelled so good. He would never understand how a girl could smell so good after spending two days in the car and camping.

Casey was taken by quite a surprise. Not only had he never cared what should happen to her, he had hurt her worse than this on past occasions, but now this? What was going on? Casey was sure, now, that it had to be something more than them both simply losing themselves to each other without realizing who they were kissing.

They were both fully aware of whom they were kissing, and neither of them were pulling away to question it.

At this point, Casey didn't care. She couldn't tell if it was because she was missing Sam so much, or because she had wanted Derek to kiss her all along, but either way, she was enjoying it. She decided that since Derek wasn't pulling away, he was either still in a mind delusion or reflex like last night, or he wanted this too.

Derek's mind was screaming at him to stop, to runaway, to press rewind on the remote control of his life. However, at this point (he realized there was no remote control to his life) since there was no turning back, he decided to take this kiss for what it was worth and try to get his feelings for Casey out of his system once and for all. Maybe this could be their one time fling, and then Derek would never want her again and when they got back home after some sight seeing, things would go back to the way they were before.

But Derek didn't want things to go back to the way they were before. Derek wanted things to stay the way they were right now. It was at this point he wished he had the remote simply to push pause.

These thoughts were also entering Casey's head when she felt Derek's arms wrap around her lower back, under her shirt, and his tongue was in her mouth. She wrapped her arms around his back and neck in return, and slipped her tongue into his mouth just as furiously. Derek shuddered and his whole body shook from Casey caressing his neck, playing with his ears, and rubbing his back while they kissed. Casey was covered in goose bumps, and had completely forgotten every thought she had been able to think at the beginning of this kiss.

Derek furiously began placing small kisses on Casey's jaw line and down her neck, each of which left a burning sensation behind. Casey lifted her head, exposing the under side of her throat to give him better access to all of the areas she wanted kissed. Casey let out a small moan as she shivered from Derek caressing her back and sides while licking her neck, and his hands made their way up her shirt and rested just below the curve of her breast.

It was at this point, a waitress walked into the bathroom.

Derek jumped away from Casey and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand while Casey slid off the counter sheepishly.

"Come on kids! Not in the bathroom!" the waitress whined.

Both teenagers awkwardly walked out of the bathroom and paid their bill, leaving before having another chance to run into that waitress.

As soon as they got into the car Casey turned to Derek.

"Derek, We have got to talk about this this time."

"I know I know, I'm sorry, I just don't want this to ruin our trip!" Derek exclaimed, putting his head down on the steering wheel.

"It doesn't have to ruin our trip!" Casey rushed over his speaking.

Derek turned his head sideways to look at her with his confused face from his steering wheel. He picked his head up as soon as the horn started to honk.

"Look, Derek, just be completely honest with me here. Just for a minute. No one's going to judge you either way. Is this something you want?" She asked him, biting her lip.

God, why did she have to do that? It turned him on so much! "Yes." He said quietly, looking down at his lap.

"Then me too." Casey said simply.

Derek looked at her in shock. Surely Casey would never agree to a situation like this. It was completely wrong, well not completely wrong, but seriously…for her it would be completely wrong.

"Don't look at me that way. Just for the week. There's obviously something both of us are feeling, and it's not going away. We're almost in New York, no one knows us. We can get this out of our systems and go back home the way we were before." Casey explained.

Derek's face fell. The way we were before? He thought to himself. She must have seen it fall because she jumped back in with the talking.

"Well, not completely like before. Maybe we'll actually be able to go back as friends. There's always been this tension between us, and I think this might be the key to it." Casey couldn't believe how calm and collected she was presenting herself to be, while inside she was screaming at herself in worry.

This is the key to it all right, thought Derek, I've wanted to be with you since we met, and now I'm finally realizing it. What am I talking about? I haven't wanted to be with her. She's just hot. This is the perfect solution.

"Derek? What's going through your head?" She asked, trying to make eye contact.

"Casey, I can't believe you would be okay with this…" Derek began cautiously. "I mean…" He looked at her incredulously.

"Derek, we're not related by blood. And anyway, it's not like we're committing to a long-term relationship here. No one will ever know. You don't think I'm that prim and proper do you?" She asked; her eyes had squinted as she watched him.

Derek couldn't believe his ears. Was this even possible? If there was ever a perfect way to get her "out of his system", this would be it. And maybe she was right. Maybe after this, all of the fighting could go away because he wouldn't have to push away his feelings for her and find a means of release. Maybe his feelings would go away by themselves.

And that was his justification for his answer.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Alright Casey." He told her. "You've got a deal."

Casey faltered a little at this, she wasn't quite sure what to say next. Were they officially having a fling?

"But don't think you'll get to be with the one and almighty forever." Derek said with a cocky grin spreading across his face.

At this Casey knew what to say. "Whatever Derek, you want this to go away just as much as I do. This is just the way to do it." Casey stated matter of factly. Derek stared at her contentedly. "Aren't you going to start the engine?" She asked, reminding him what they were doing.

"Right. Just trying to make you sweat McDonald." Derek covered as he started the car.

The two hours to New York City passed awkwardly between the two.

This happened too officially, thought Derek, it doesn't seem right. It just seems, odd. But that's the way Casey does things I suppose, she always has to have her ducks in a row, everything's got to be perfect and down on paper…or whatever.

Casey, in the mean time, was having some thoughts of her own: I wonder if he'll kiss me again like that. This feels so weird, and a little wrong, but this is the perfect opportunity to get everything out in the open with Derek, and get over any feeling I may have for him.

Casey hadn't wanted to admit it to herself, but she had been attracted to Derek from the day they met. Unfortunately, they were stepsiblings and she had never been given the opportunity to act on that attraction…until now. It felt odd to be the one going after him, she had always had guys going after her.

Well, she had always had guys going after her up until this new school. She had always been popular at her old school, but here it seemed as if they boys didn't want to go near her. It probably had something to do with all of the blonde bimbos. Or the fact that Derek ruined any chances she had for popularity within her first week of attending there.

What she didn't realize was how much hell Sam had actually gone through to be with her. It was an unspoken rule that the guys at their high school stay away from Derek Venturi's siblings, be they step or not. While this created a safe haven for Edwin, Marti, and even Lizzie because no one could touch them because everyone knew that Derek Venturi was related to them and hurting them in any way shape or form would cause total social humiliation, or in Marti's case, her big brother would come get them. Unfortunately, for Casey, it caused a different form of security blanket. One she didn't want. All of the girls were jealous of how beautiful she was but nothing could ever be said about her and nothing could be done against her, and all of the guys loved how hot she was but nobody could ever go for it. Until Sam came along.

It had seemed fitting to the school that Sam be granted this privilege of dating Casey. Sam and Derek were best friends; Sam was a great guy and would have never been known to take advantage of a girl (the way Derek had been known to). It seemed perfect that Sam would be the only guy: popular enough, nice enough, and already close enough to be accepted into the family. Surely Derek would allow him to date his step-sibling.

But this was the school's thought process, not his. No way would he ever want Sam near Casey, or any other guy for that matter. Casey was his, even though she wasn't his. Having a guy date her would be like having the puck stolen from him on the ice rink from one of his very own team members, and that just did not happen to the team captain. However, it had happened. Sam had taken his puck right out from under him, the only problem was, Derek hadn't realized he was the one in control of the puck the whole time.

Casey, the puck, couldn't remember a time when she hadn't been attracted to Derek. True, he was a complete jerk to her much of the time, but he had been really nice to her this whole summer. Sam had practically abandoned her, and he had always been there for her to cry on, to go out with, and he made her feel better and forget her woes every time Sam had broken a date.

But now this? Neither were sure how they were feeling about this sudden open confrontation. Both were happy, but too uncomfortable to do any of the things they both wanted to do together. It almost seemed easier for Derek to kiss Casey before all of this…openness about the whole situation.

Things became increasingly easier when they did finally arrive in New York though. Derek stepped out of the car and began to walk around to help Casey open her door. Casey began to open her door and get out when Derek jogged around to her side to take the door from her.

"No you don't, that's my job." He told her as she stepped out of the vehicle, seemingly surprised after a long car ride of no talking.

"Wow. I didn't know you'd take your job so seriously." She said to him, with a sparkle in her blue eyes.

They both looked at each other, and looked at each other's mouths. You can guess what came next.

Derek shut the car door and leaned Casey up against it. He took her mouth onto his without any warning and soon both were entangled in yet another passionate kiss of a lifetime. As their breathing became heavier they both pulled away, eyes still closed.

"Yeah, I think this is going to be a good thing for both of us." Derek breathed out.

"Yeah." Casey agreed as she pulled him back to her.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Their first day in New York was a blast. They spent the day at the statue of liberty, which would have only taken a couple of hours but had an incredibly long line because it was a Sunday, so a majority of the day was spent waiting next to other couples. They met Joe and Nancy ahead of them, and Rebecca and Donald behind them.

Rebecca and Donald were an older couple, probably in their 60's. At first Derek and Casey couldn't believe the stories from these old people. They had been through the war together, Rebecca as a nurse and Donald fighting. She healed his battle wounds and they married to celebrate when the war ended. They had been together ever since, spending a majority of their life raising a family. They had now spent the past year traveling across the world and seeing all the sights they had both always wanted. New York was one of their last trips.

Joe and Nancy were a younger couple in their early twenties. They were here on their honeymoon, and it was in line that Nancy broke down and told Joe that she was pregnant. She had been waiting for the right time to tell him, but it had just been too much with the heat and him bickering at her wanting to know what she was keeping from him, so she let him know.

Derek and Casey, in the mean time, had made up quite a dramatic story of their own. They decided to tell everyone that they were from Canada, which was the truth, however, they told everyone that they had just graduated high school and were here on a vacation together before college. They were high school sweethearts (supposedly) and had been together since the day they met freshmen year. It was sort of the truth considering they really had been together, even if it was against their will.

The long line was well worth the wait, for a few friends and a few hours later, they were finally at the top, gazing out onto the ocean and wondering in awe at the beautiful they sight they had encountered. As they stood gazing with the other couples, Derek put his arms around Casey's waist and breathed in her scent. Still gorgeous, he thought to himself while looking out over her head. Casey leaned back into him and simply fell into peaceful bliss in his arms. She was sad when they had to leave and let the others (last in line) have their turn before the sun set completely.

They were both starving, as were Rebecca, Donald, Joe and Nancy. All three couples were going out to eat, so they decided better to do it together than alone. Although Derek could have really enjoyed the alone time with Casey, she was having so much fun. He knew that all he wanted at this point in time was to see her happy, so he took them out, on his father's credit card, to Sardis.

Of course hearing this extravagant news, all of the girls insisted on going back to their hotels to change. Problem, Derek and Casey hadn't gotten a hotel room yet. Problem two: While Derek was sure he would anything to make sure this trip was amazing for Casey, he wasn't sure what the credit limit was on this card. He did know, however, that it was his father's law office card, which had to have high credit line for his father's work. He also new that his family was in the woods with no means of communication once the cell phones dies (which would be soon) and they would have no way of knowing until they were back home. Hopefully, by then, Derek would have paid the bill and no one would be the wiser.

With all of these plans carefully worked out in his head, Derek continued to look for a hotel that would be nice enough for Casey and he to stay in, but wouldn't make too big of a dent in his father's credit card. He kept reminding himself that he would indeed have to pay it as soon as they got home. Derek and Casey soon found a small hotel with vacancies. Derek was surprised to find the price was more than anything he'd ever even heard of in Canada, but they were after all, in New York City. As Derek asked for two rooms side by side, Casey put her hand on his arm.

"Are there single rooms available with separate beds?" She asked the attendant.

"Why yes miss, of course." He informed her.

"Then that's what we'd like." She told him. When the attendant turned around to get the key, she turned to Derek. "Remember, we do have to pay our parents back for whatever we use on this card." She told him seriously.

"That's fine with me, but is it okay with you?" Derek asked.

"Normally, no. But you've been really nice so far on this trip. I doubt we'll kill each other…we can share a room. There will be a bathroom for us to change in and there will be separate beds." Casey said simply.

No big deal, right? Yeah sure, just try to control yourself, Derek thought…

The night out was blast; Derek couldn't get over the fact that Casey had packed a nice dress…for camping. Whatever, he thought to himself. Luckily he pulled off a pair of cargo pants and a nice jacket as an outfit one could wear to the very nice and very famous restaurant Sardis. This meal was also more expensive than Derek liked to think about at the moment, but he knew full well that Casey had stars in her eyes and was very excited to be eating at Sardis, the restaurant in New York that she always talked about eating at someday.

After dinner the three couples parted ways and exchanged phone numbers for future reunions in NYC. It really had been fun to meet them, spend the day in line with them, and spend the evening eating with them. Casey was sad to see it end, but Derek was relieved to have some time of her to himself.

"So, you wanna go back to the hotel or do something else?" He asked, searchingly for what she might be in the mood for.

"Honestly, I'm pretty tired. Today was long, not to mention hot and muggy, and I got just what I've always wanted, a dinner at Sardis. Let's just go back and relax." She answered him, sleepily.

He looked at his watch. She was right. It was almost 9:30, and he was tired too. He had been driving for a day and a half and now had spent the other half of his day standing in line in the heat. He was beat. He just didn't want to drag her down. But now that he knew they were headed back, he was happy about it.

Back at the hotel both teens took turns changing into pajamas in the bathroom. Casey's PJ'S consisted of a pink camisole top and pink pj bottoms that hugged her hips. Just the sight made Derek crazy, but he had to remind himself to slow down again. He wasn't sure what she wanted out of this whole "fling" thing. To Casey, a fling may consist of just what they've done, and nothing more. But Derek knew that he wanted much more out of her. He wasn't going to push her though, because he was coming to the realization that he really cared about her more than he wanted to consciously admit to himself. Derek wanted more than a fling, and at this point he was willing to wait for a lifetime to get it.

Derek's PJ'S, on the other hand, consisted of PJ pants and no shirt. It was hot in the hotel room, both noticed this, but the temperature was becoming more bearable since they turned on the AC when they got back to the room. Casey cautiously checked out his six-pack. Yeah. He was hot and there was no denying it. But she questioned herself as to why she was doing this. She was getting over Sam, which she knew. She also knew that Derek would be using her for whatever he wanted, so she may as well do the same. That was the only reason (at this point that she would admit to herself) that she had suggested such a plan. As long as they were here and driving each other crazy, they may as well take each other up in the heat of the moment. But how far was she willing to go to get over her boyfriend?

"Case…" Derek started, but then at a loss for words.

"What Derek?" She asked, suddenly concerned as to what may have been on his mind as well.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm really having a great time." Cop out. He really just wanted to let her know that he couldn't put a finger on what he was feeling, but he wanted to extend their fling until further notice. Longer than New York. Would he be over her by the time they got home? No. He knew that much. No way.

"Me too Derek." Casey reassured him. "In fact, I was really worried about how uncomfortable I might feel, but I actually feel relieved now that you said that." She laughed to herself softly.

That night Casey and Derek didn't go to bed until 4:45 am. No, they weren't fulfilling the promise of their fling. They talked. They spoke with each other about school, college, what they wanted to do with their lives after school, their families before their parents married each other, their family now, their families in the future, where they wanted to live, and where they wanted to travel. Stresses, happy times, sad times, holidays, weekends, weekdays, vacations gone wrong. Things that had knocked them down in life, and things that had picked them up in life. That night into the morning, Derek and Casey talked about almost everything they had ever experienced and what they wanted to experience in life yet to come. They both finally fell asleep very contentedly in their separate beds.


End file.
